What are your guys opinions on packing
Do you guys pack with panniers or manties
Diamond hitches or tie-downs
Any info or comments are appreciated

I use sawbucks with panniers using single or double Diamonds most of the time. For big moose quarters I like to us a heavy meat sack and a barrel hitch with a Diamond over the whole load. I will be the first to say alot of my loads are not text book nor are my hitches. I learned from an old outfitter who allways said IF IT MADE IT AND YOU DID NOT LAME UP A HORSE YOU MUST OF DID IT RIGHT. The big key is to practice at home and teach your horses to stand still while loading. Find a system that works for you and do not be afraid of trying new things and learning from others and there is no such thing as to much rope.

I guess i might as well tell what i do
I pack with Only one large saddle pad(No sores yet) I use the newfangled adjustable bared packsaddles,Plastic packboxes seccured with a box hitch followed by a top pack of some sort
covered with a canvas tarp then a either a single man or 2-man diamond is thrown
I also roll up a canvas soft pack and tie behind my cantle in case i need to bring home something extra

Sounds like you know what your doing. If it works for you keep at it. I think I will finally break down and buy a good packing book this winter one that has all the different hitches and knots with lots of pictures in it. Does anyone have any sugestions on a good one? I know there is alot of things I do packing were there has got to be a better way than how I do it. Like is their such a thing as a woodstove, chainsaw, firewood hitch?

the best book i have seen is called Trailriding & packing it's from blue creek outfitting in BC
It has everything from starting horses to the double diamond hitch
If you go to google and search for blue creek outfitting you should find it

I use soft and hard panniers with either a diamond or awuaw hitch as well as sling elk quarters on either a riding saddle, crossbuck or modified decker.

The classic book, and still the best in my opinion, is Horses, Hitches and Rocky Trails by Joe Back. It is a great book.

I've got a whole bunch, but I think Horse Packing in Pictures has the best illustrations. I guess how you pack depends partly on where you live. seems to be a regional thing. Around here, we use mostly Pack boxes, while some places seem to prefer the soft panniers or Manties. Packin in on Horses and Mules by Smoke Elser deals more with the Mantie method. also describes how he managed to pack in a piano, would you believe, to some remote cabin.
I always carry meat bags that fit over my saddle when I'm hunting, which saves a lot of hassle and gives you an extra pack horse if need be. Never packed hay bales, but cubed hay bags I tie on with a barrel hitch. I generally use the one man diamond over the whole works, mostly because it's the only one I can remember.
Grizz

quote:

SBT - "The classic book, and still the best in my opinion, is Horses, Hitches and Rocky Trails by Joe Back. It is a great book."

Yep!

L.W.

I beg to differ. My copy of Back's book is dated 1971 and it was in its tenth printing then. Very entertaining and informative, but if you're green as grass, I think you'll get more out of the explicit illustrations in Horse Packing in Pictures. I get a real kick out of Smoke Elsers book. The poor bugger must be your typical impoverished horse person. I've never seen such an accumulation of junk, including vehicles, used to demonstrate packing techniques. One should buy the book, just as a way of supporting an underprivledged person.
Grizz

There are a number of packing schools taking place nationwide and at some colleges. Usually a 3 day siminar. They will teach you what you need to know..Hands on training is the best way to go IMO...

Packing is an art and I can see that many herer are not comfortable with it....best advice is to go to a packing clinic......it is not really that tough..........give me a shout if you are having problems.

Years ago, I took one of my sons and two nephews on a pack-in trip in BC.
It was the first trip of the hunting season, and the old experienced outfitter (Red Sorenson) and his son and crew packed all the horses at the ranch. As soon as we were out the gate, several of the horses started bucking their loads. What a sight! Gear was scattered over a wide area. Several hours later, we started again, and had only a few incidents on the 7 hour ride to the first camp.

I use a diamond hitch packing salt.

However you choose to pack, you should have a manti and use a diamond hitch, keeps stuff dry and clean not to mention you won't have to be resetting your stuff constantly..

the Joe Back Book is priceless to a tenderfoot packer - get it. Every packer should have a set of canvas tarps so you can mantie loads. There is a technique in folding the tarp that insures your laod will be protected from the elements. Learn the barrel hitch for securing your manties to your pack saddle, be it a saw buck or a decker. One thing I learned from the guy who mentored me was to pick up a 6 dozen or so climbing caribiners, makes for a quick and easy spot to hook a loop.
In Joe Back's words, a covered load with well tied diamond witch holding it all together will save your bacon when things go bad.
Good luck,
Don

STACY GEBBARDS BOOK [WHY MULES WEAR DIAMONDS] HES FROM MC CALL AREA IDAHO PROBABLY PACKED MORE MILES THAN DAVY CROCKETT

Stacy used to give clinics in the summer near McCall. I enjoyed the first one so much that I did it again, and bought his books. I can't remember all the stuff he taught me. You have to have the knack and practice a lot. Stacy had the gift, plus he used his techniques a lot, and kept on learning new stuff. One thing I do remember is that packing mules and horses is something that can be elevated to an art form, and Stacy had extraordinary ability, with the pack animals as well as the packing techniques. He used many of the really old time knowledge, but had some of his own innovations. Before meeting Stacy I always thought that the best packers were these tall lanky, bow legged guys with big strong hands. Stacy is a small guy with big strong hands, and he has no trouble with 15.2 hand mules. I learned that attention to the small details count. Sure, most of us get by by knowing the basics, but if a guy paid attention in Stacy's clinic, it was easy to see how refinment of technique could pay off with a more pleasurable outing. Even if a guy could learn half the stuff Stacy knows, he could do a pretty good job with a pack mule or horse, and avoid a lot of trouble on the trail, and have a higher percentage of smelling the roses, & enjoying the scenery, instead of fixing wrecks. A guy can cover a lot of trail, if he can just keep moving. You gotta have your packs stay together to keep moving. Since taking lessons from Stacy, I know there is no excuse in wearing holes in the hide of your pack animals. If your horse or mule bleeds, because of your pack, it's your fault. I didn't know that until I met Stacy, and took his clinic.

By the way, does anyone know how Stacy is getting along these days. Last I knew, about five or six years ago, he had come down with something mysterious, and his packing days were finished. He was selling his mules and all, and spending some time, sipping whisky, in the wall tent he had set up near his house, overlooking the meadow.

KB

stacy was to do a clinic this last summer in council but the owners of the ranch raised their fees to $600.00 a person and no showed
as much as stacy loved this he would have done it for free
im going to try to contact him over the holidays

Do you or any of the regulars remember Erv Malnarich? I went thru his school in Hamilton, MT back in 1969 With Jack Wemple. Did a few seasons packing for different outfitters and was licensed in 3 states over 30 years or so.
Still have some of my original equipment from back then, a lot of photos and many fond memories.
Merry Christmas to you all
Rocky Kemp

TALKED TO STACY GEBBARDS THIS WEEKEND
HES DOING PRETTY GOOD BUT NOT DOING ANY PACKING SAID HE ONLY PACKED ONE DAY THIS YEAR
SAID HE PACKED IN THE SELWAY FOR 25 YEARS
SAID HE WOULD STAY IN THE BACK COUNTRY UNTIL ALL THE HUNTERS GOT THEIR ELK THEY WOULD THEN START AT THREE IN THE MORNING LOADING THE ANIMALS THEY WOULD HAVE SO MUCH MEAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO EVEN LOAD THE RIDING ANIMALS
IT WOULD TAKE TILL NOON THEN THEY WOULD WALK OUT 25 MILES
IF YOU DIDNT SEE THIS GUY IN ACTION YOU WOULDNT THINK HE COULD PACK ANYTHING BUT HE HAD A WAY OF MAKING EVERY MOVE WITH NO EFFORT
WERE GOING OVER WITH THE MULES THIS SUMMER AND PACK HIS FIREWOOD FOR NEXT WINTER AND MAYBE LEARN SOME MORE TRICKS